Food for Thought: Agamemnon work out!

·         For discussion:

v      A lot of characters in the play attribute the murder of Agamemnon to divine vengeance for the crime committed by his father, Atreus. Leaving aside what the Chorus and other characters say, do you think Aeschylus believes this, or is the spirit of vengeance just a metaphor for the human, non-supernatural anger of Aegisthus, who plots with Clytemnestra to murder Agamemnon?

v      Assuming that Agamemnon's death really is brought about by divine will, because of the crime of his father Atreus, why does Menelaus get off scot free? If the crime of Atreus is inherited by his children, shouldn't Menelaus be just as guilty as Agamemnon? Does the fact that Menelaus remains unpunished cast any doubt on the divine vengeance theory held by various characters in the play?

v      Did Agamemnon act freely when he chose to kill his daughter Iphigenia? If not, did he still deserve to be punished?

v      Shortly before she dies, Cassandra says that she is being killed by the god Apollo. On a less supernatural level, she just seems to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whichever way you look at it, Cassandra seems pretty disconnected from the cycle of killings and revenges within Agamemnon's family that lies at the heart of the tragedy. If you accept this description, why do you think Aeschylus included Cassandra in the tragedy?

v      Taken as a whole, does Aeschylus's Agamemnon portray Zeus and the other gods as just or unjust? Are they neither?

·         Questions again

·         Justice and judgement—explore

ü      In Agamemnon, is there a difference between justice and revenge? If so, what is it?

ü      How is Agamemnon's theme of "Justice and Judgment" related to that of "Wisdom and Knowledge"?

ü      Many characters in the play say that Zeus and the other gods are in charge of justice. But if Zeus is in charge of absolutely everything, doesn't that make him the cause of injustice as well? How can we resolve this contradiction? Is it possible?

ü      Who is the most unjust character in Agamemnon?

·         Revenge

ü      According to Aeschylus's play, is revenge an effective way of solving problems?

ü      Whose reason for getting revenge on Agamemnon makes more sense, that of Clytemnestra, or that of Aegisthus?

ü      Does Aeschylus's play portray revenge as ever justified?

ü      Is there a difference between justice and revenge? If so, what is it?

·         Fate and free will

ü      Does Agamemnon portray fate and free will as complete opposites, or is there some wiggle-room between the two ideas?

ü      Does Agamemnon have a choice when he sacrifices Iphigenia at Aulis?

ü      According to Agamemnon, does knowing the future provide any sort of advantage? Does it provide a disadvantage? Does it matter at all?

ü      If Agamemnon did not have free choice over his actions, is it fair for him to be punished

·         Wisdom and knowledge

ü      It is clear that the theme of "suffer and learn," as the Chorus puts it in line 177, is central to this play. But what does "learn" mean in this context? Do we have to suffer to learn all things, or only some things? What does Aeschylus's play tell us about these matters?

ü      The god Apollo has cursed Cassandra so that she can prophesy but will not be believed. And yet, the Chorus tells her that they believe her prophecy. Does this contradict the idea of Apollo's curse, or does it fit in with it somehow? If it does fit in, how?

·         Family

o        How would Agamemnon be different if its acts of murder and revenge had been committed by unrelated people, instead of members of the same family? Would the play even still make sense?

o        Clytemnestra appears to care deeply about her children; thus, her main motivation for killing Agamemnon appears to be because he sacrificed their daughter Iphigenia. If this is true, why did Clytemnestra banish their son Orestes?

o        Atreus kills Thyestes's children because of what Thyestes did. Aegisthus is pleased with the death of Agamemnon because of what his father Atreus did. Based on the play, do you think Aeschylus considers it just to punish a child for its parent's crimes?

o        If Agamemnon is guilty because his father was guilty, why does his brother Menelaus get off scot free? What does the fate of Menelaus say about the possibility that injustice is passed on from generation to generation?

·         Fear

ü      Who is the most fearful character in Agamemnon?

ü      In the play, do characters most often fear for themselves or on behalf of others?

ü      In their big debate scene, who is more fearful, Cassandra or the Chorus?

ü      To what degree does Aeschylus's play portray fear as inhibiting action?

ü      http://www.shmoop.com/agamemnon/fear-quotes.html

·         Politics

ü      Where does Aeschylus see political power as coming from: from the gods or from human beings?

ü      The internal debate between the Chorus members after they hear Agamemnon's death cries mimics the Athenian democratic assembly. What does Aeschylus see as the advantages and disadvantages of democracy?

ü      In Aeschylus's view, who has more power, rulers or their subjects?

ü      What does Aeschylus portray as the relationship between the family and the state?

Final Task --Supervised Writing:

Pick up a topic from the long list you see--choose one  and frame an aspect statement . Write roughly 500 words :

Eg  Topic: Minor characters :
Aspect statement:      Discuss the role of Cassandra's prophecies in the play's structure.

·         Did Agamemnon deserve his fate?

·         Could Agamemnon’s death have been prevented? Communication

·         The issue of justice and who is to administer it.

·         Relationship between men and women

·         Cassandra as a tragic figure

·         Naturalistic symbolism

·         Character foiling and doubling

·         Fire and sunrise

·         Women as promiscuous

·         Womanliness and Manliness

·         Divine versus human justice*

·         Beast symbolism

·         The Significance of the Parados of the Oresteia

·         Chorus Metamorphosis (The Chorus of the Oresteia)

·         Peripheral Vision through the Chorus and Cassandra

·         Women and Warfare in Agamemnon by Aeschylus

·         Justice and Vengeance

·         The Furies in “Agamemnon”

·         Women and power

·         Discuss the effect of past violence on the events in Agamemnon

·         How sympathetic a character is Clytemnestra? Why should we applaud or condemn her husband's murder?

·         Discuss the role of hubris, or pride, that comes before the death of Agamemnon.

·         Analyze Agamemnon's character, both in his words and as seen through the eyes of others.

·         What is the role of the Chorus in the action of Agamemnon? Are they passive or active characters?

·         Discuss the end of the play, especially the dialogue between Aegisthus and the Chorus. What function does Aegisthus' character have in the play?

·         Discuss the use of foreshadowing in the play, especially in the Chorus' speeches.

·         Discuss the role of the minor characters, the Herald and the Watchman, in both the plot and the themes of the play.

Due date : 20th May,2012...     by 8 pm:)

Task 5: Reflective statement

WORLD LITERATURE ASSIGNMENT- DEADLINES FOR ENGLISH A HL & SL STUDENTS.

1.    FIRST  DRAFT OF WORLD LITERATURE ASSIGNMENT(TYPED, IN PROPER FORMAT- BETWEEN 1200-1500 WORDS)-TO BE TURNED IN LATEST BY MONDAY, THE 18^th of JUNE, 2012 AS SOFT COPY THROUGH EMAIL to the respective HL and SL TEACHERS.

2.    TEACHERS  to check and send FEEDBACK by THURSDAY, the 25^th of JUNE, 2012.

3.    STUDENTS TO SUBMIT THE 2^nd DRAFT of the WORLD LITERATURE ASSIGNMENT, INCORPORTING THE FEEDBACK OF THE TEACHERS BY- MONDAY, THE 2^nd of JULY, 2012.

4.     TEACHERS to check and send the FEEDBACK by SATURDAY, the 7^th of JULY, 2012.

5.    STUDENTS TO SUBMIT THE 3^rd and FINAL DRAFT of THE WORLD LITERATURE ASSIGNMENT INCORPORATING THE FEEDBACK OF THE TEACHERS ON 1st AUGUST,2012 (WORD COUNT OF EACH ASSIGNMENT NEEDS to be mentioned).

N.B.- EMAIL IDs OF TEACHERS FOR SENDING SOFT COPIES OF ASSIGNMENTS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1.    FOR HL STUDENTS: Ms. DAMAYANTI MUKHERJEE:

damayanti.indus@gmail.com

2.    FOR SL STUDENTS: Dr. Monica Pathak Raghavan

raghavanmonica@yahoo.in

Task 4: Hopefully this will be more of a joy than a chore:
Try to catch this, even though I know your Final exam will be going on--this adaptation will bring two of the greatest European authors and their writing forms together---a gem of World Lit experience.Also English HL is not just about reading and analysing in class but experiencing every oppurtunity of Literary offering. Find below the details:

Samahaara

presents

"BLOOD SONG"
(A play in English)

A radical adaptation of Federico Garcia Lorca's "Blood Wedding"

Produced by Rathna Shekar Reddy

Adapted and Directed by Internationally acclaimed Director
Prof. David Zinder

Date: 26th & 27th May 2012
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: NIFT Auditorium, Madhapur, Hyderabad.

Entry by Donation Rs.400/- & 250/-

Available online at
http://in.bookmyshow.com/plays/Blood-Song/ET00009792

or call 98852 88982 to book yours.


About the play: BLOOD SONG

It was the title of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s brilliant novella – Chronicle of a Death Foretold – that provided the key for this adaptation. Clearly, Lorca intended us to understand from the very start of his play that a death is about to occur. Five minutes after the start of the play, all the elements of the “infernal machine” that will lead to violent death are in place: there is mention of a knife, there is mention of a blood feud which has already killed a husband and a first-born son, and there is a remaining son who bears the burden of this terrible heritage. All that is left is to watch helplessly as this tragedy unfolds.

However, since the death at the end is prefigured in the beginning, the play can be looked at differently, mixing time frames to emphasize the tragic inevitability of the events of the story. This is the premise that underlies Blood Song, the adaptation of Lorca's Blood Wedding.

Remaining totally faithful to Lorca’s hidden structure and to the fundamentally poetic nature of the play, in Blood Song the original linear time frame is replaced by a poetic, circular, cumulative structure that reaches into the story from many different intersections, either simultaneously or in an order determined by the interdependence of scenes rather than by their chronological order.

This poetic re-arrangement of the scenes of the original play requires a different approach to character, narrative and space. The rapid time-shifts between different parts of the play require a flexible and empty theatre space, heightened stage imagery using the actors’ presence and techniques of physical theatre, as well as a doubling of all the parts so that the factual events of the story can access the different time frames, and inform and influence each other simultaneously in the performance space.

This is a complex tapestry, and a challenging adaptation of a great modern classic, but, given Lorca's fascination with Surrealism, we believe Lorca would have given it his blessing, and it is with the greatest of respect to this extraordinary playwright that we offer this version – Blood Song –of the original Blood Wedding.

Task 3: pg 54
Look at the Victory at Troy from the point of view of

women
ethics( ToK )

Due by Sunday 13 May. 8 pm

Welcome to the Orestian world !

Useful video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7sdZQ1BDs0

Some documents to read:
www.temple.edu/classics/oresteia.html

www.gradesaver.com/agamemnon/study-guide/about/

Task 2: Write a 250 word commentary on the opening scene, analysing for literary features as well as it functions as a scene of exposition.Post it here.



Hint: Is there already a sense of foreboding that hubris are in force?



Due by Sunday 13 May. Don't even think of plagiarising.